Cap Rocat

Cap Rocat began life as a coastal fortress guarding the entrance to the Bay of Palma, and its conversion into a hotel kept the drama intact: a drawbridge-style entrance, sandstone battlements, and long stone galleries cut into the headland. Architect Antonio Obrador's restoration resisted the urge to prettify, leaving raw rock walls and monumental proportions that make the property feel closer to an archaeological site than a resort.

The former gun emplacements now hold suites, several with private plunge pools sunk into the stone and terraces looking straight across the bay to Palma's cathedral on the horizon. The Sentinel suites at the water's edge are among the Mediterranean's most photographed rooms for good reason. Being adults-oriented and enclosed within its own protected grounds, the estate is remarkably silent given the city glitters just across the water.

A saltwater pool runs along the old moat, the sea club below offers swimming from rock platforms in gin-clear water, and dining moves between a candlelit restaurant within the fortress walls and casual seafood by the water. This is not a conventional beach resort—there is no sand—but as a piece of theatre with genuine privacy, Mallorca has nothing else like it.